Fuel injection pumps



April 11, 1961 P, E BESSIERE 2,978,987

FUEL INJECTION PUMPS Filed May 20, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l'gj.

FUEL INJECTION PUMPS Filed May 20, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 iinited States FUEL INJECTIN PUMPS Pierre Etienne Bessiere, 55 Blvd. Charcot, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France The present invention relates to fuel injection devices including an injection pump of the piston type and at least one injector which is opened by the action of the pressure of the fuel delivered by said pump as soon as this pressure reaches a predetermined value.

It has already been proposed to reduce the rate of increase of the pressure of the fuel subjected to the action of the pump by providingmeans for allowing fuel to leak out from the pump cylinder, in order to adjust the injection advance in accordance with variations of the speed of the engine on which the injection device is tted.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved pump for use in such a fuel injection device.

The pump according to my invention is characterized in that it comprises means for preventing the fuel from leaking out from the pump cylinder, said last mentioned means being controlled in such manner as to operate when the pressure of the fuel, which is being increased by the displacement of the piston pump, reaches a predetermined value lower than the pressure which produces injection, the means which serve to drive the pump piston being arranged in such manner as to give it an increasing speed at least during its fuel compression and delivery stroke.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, given merely by way of example and in which:

Figs. l to 4 show, in partV axial section, four different embodiments of an injection pump belonging to a fuel injection device according to the invention, such a pump being itself made according to the invention.

Fig. la shows, on an enlarged scale, a detail of the structure of Fig. 1.

Fig. shows curves illustrating the operation of my device.

The pump according to my invention is intended to be used in cooperation with at least one injector, not shown on the drawings, mounted on one of the cylinders of the engine (explosion engine or gradual combustion engine) to be fed with fuel. This injector opens under the action of the pressure of the fuel delivered by the pump and thus achieves the injection of fuel into the engine cylinder as soon as the pressure of the fuel acting upon said injector reaches or exceeds a predetermined value. Injectors of this kind are Well known in the art and need not be described in detail.

On Fig. 1, which shows a first embodiment of an injection pump made according to my invention, reference numeral 1 designates the pump piston, which .reciprocates in cylinder 2 and is driven for instance by a cam C, in such manner -that its upward movement (compression and delivery stroke) takes place at an increasing speed.

An inlet conduit 3 opens into cylinder 2.. This conduit 3 is connected in the usual fashion with a transfer pump which lls up cylinder 2 Vwith fuel whenpiston 2,978,987 Patented Apr. 11, 1961 'ice a fuel leak passage 5 one of the ends of which opensv into the upper end of cylinder 2, whereas the other endY of said leak passage forms a small calibrated opening Sa (see Fig. la) opening into a discharge chamber 6 provided in the pump body and connected, through a conduit 7, with the fuel tank or another space where the pressure is low.

Passage 5 is provided in a movable part having for instance the form of a rod S the lower end of which is adjacent to the upper end of cylinder 2 and which is slidable in the pump body. Passage 5 extends axially in said rod 8 from the lower end thereof to a level which is slightly (for instance some tenths of a millimeter) below the top wall of chamber 6, whereby the calibrated opening 5a is closed as soon as rod 8 has been slightly moved upwardly. Thus rod 8, with its passage 5-5a constituted as a kind of slide valve.

Rod S is kept in its lower position, determined by the contact of a shoulder Sa of rod 8 with a bearing surface dbi provided in the pump body, by a return Spring 9. One of the ends of this spring is bearing against an annular projection 1i) of rod 8 and the other end against a cap 11 which is screwed on the pump body so that the tension of spring 9. is adjustable. This cap is provided with lan abutment l2, preferably adjustable in position with respect toV said cap, by means of screwthreads 13 so that the end 14 of rod 8 can bear against said abutment 12.

The operation of the device shown by Fig. 1 is as follows:

When piston l starts moving upwardly, it rst closes the outlet of inlet conduit 3. Once this outlet is closed, the pressure 4rises in cylinder 2 andY in delivery conduit 4. However, due to the presence of leak passage 5, the rate of increase of the pressure is reduced.

It will be supposed that the pressure necessary in order to overcome the resistance of return spring 9 and to move rod 8 upwardly is equal to 50 atmospheres, andthat the fuel pressure necessary to cause the injector to open is equal to atmospheres. During the first part of the upward movement of piston 1, there is produced a relatively` slow rise of the pressure in cylinder 2, until the pressure of 50 atmospheres is reached.' Rod 8 is then moved upwardly and closes the outlet of theleak passage 5;' this upward movement of rod 8 being limited by the fact that its end 14 comes into contactrwith abutment 13. Then the pressure rises practically instantaneously up to 9i) atmospheres so that injection is started.

The pressure-of 50 atmospheres which causes the leak passage to be closed is the more quickly reachedV as the speed of the-engine which drives piston 1 Yis higher.

Fig. 5 illustrates the action of the leak passage on thei fuel injection advance. f l

On this figure, the abscissas correspond to the positions of piston l in its cylinder during the upward stroke of the piston, from the time it closes inlet conduitY 3; whereas the ordinates correspond to cylinder 2. y

Figi shows two curvesdesignated by I and VII.

Curve I corresponds to the variation of pressure for a speed of piston 1 corresponding to a relatively low number of revolutions per minute of the enginev (for. instance 1800 revolutions-per minute), whereas cur-ve II;

corresponds tor-a higher speed of the engine, for instancev 20GB-revolutions per minute.

ln the r'st case, the pressure of.50'atnz1osplieres thepressures in i cylinder 2 is reached for the position al of the piston in its cylinder (a being the angle of advance of injection). For this position there is produced a sudden rise of theV pressure from 50 to 90 atmospheres, so that position al corresponds to the beginning of injection for said speed of 1800 revolutions per minute of the engine. If, on the contrary, the engine is running at 2000 revolutions per minute, the rise of pressures in cylinder 2 is quicker with respect to the various positions occupied successively -by piston 1 in its cylinder 2. The pressure of 50 atmospheres is already reached for the position a2 of piston 1 in its cylinder whereby, for this speed of the engine, the injection advance corresponds to u2. It is greater than for the speed of 1800 revolutions per minute.

Thus I obtain, by means of the device according to my invention, an automatic variation of theadvance of injection in accordance with Vthe speed of the engine. The pressure for which the leak passage is closed can be modified by adjusting spring 9or to any 'other adjustment means, not shown, capable of acting upon the sec-V tion of the leak. i Y

From what precedes, it results that the injection pump must start its compression stroke earlier than in the usual pumps. In other words, the pump according to my invention must have an excess of advance. 'Ihis excess is corrected yby the lag produced by the presence of the leak passage during the rise of pressure of the fuel subjected to the action of the pump piston inside the pump cylinder. This lag is reduced when the speed of the engine increases, which causes an increase of the injection advance, and it is increased when the speed of the engine decreases, which corresponds to a reduction of the injection advance. For instance, I may obtain that the lag which serves to correct the advance varies in inverse ratio to the square of the number of revolutions per minute of the engine.

The embodiment illustrated by Fig. 2 differentiates from that shown in Fig'. 1 essentially by the fact that the delivery conduit 4, instead of opening directly into cylinder 2, opens,`above the top wall of said cylinder, into the housing provided in the pump body for rod 8. Consequently, in this case rod 8 further serves to replace the usual check valve provided in such injection devices. The delivery of fuel from cylinder 2 into conduit 4 can take place only after rod 8 has been moved upwardly a distance suicient to close the leak passage 5. Therefore, not only do I dispense with the usual check valve but also I may use a spring 9 stronger than in the case of Fig. l since the pressure of the fuel can act upon the injector only after rod 8 has been moved sufficiently to close the leak passage. In the embodiment shown by Fig. 3, the adjustable spring 9 is replaced by a magnetic locking device constituted by an electro-magnet. l

'In this construction, rod 8 is held in its lower position by an armature 15 rigid with a rod'16 in line with rod 8 and applied against the enlarged upper end of said rod 8.A This armature 15 is subjected to th'e action of an electro-magnet 17 mounted at the upperend of the pump body. As long as the force of attraction of this electromagnet is greater than the force exerted by the pressure inside cylinder 2 on the lower end of rod 8, said rod remains in its lower position, for which leakr passage 18 into their initial position as soon as the pressure in cylinder 2 drops down, due to the return of piston 1. Passages 21 provided in armature 15 prevent the air located under the armature from exerting a dash-pot effect opposing the return movement thereof.

The embodiment illustrated by Fig. 4 corresponds to that of Fig. 2 with the diierence that rod 8 is replaced by a valve 22 the lower end of which is of conical shape and cooperates with a conical seat provided in the pump body above cylinder 2. This valve 22 controls the communication between cylinder 2 and delivery conduit 4. Furthermore, due to its conical shape, the opening of this valve causes an increase of the area afforded to the is open. As soon as the pressure directed upon the lower end of rod 8 exceeds the force of attraction of the electro-magnet, armature 15 moves upwardly and rod 8 is immediately displaced in the upward direction, thus causin g this passage 5 to be closed. This upward displacement of rod 8 may be limited by an annular abutment 18 fixed in the pump body and cooperating with the top face of the enlarged end of rod 8. The force of electromagnet Y17 is forinstance determined in such manner that armature 15 is released, andrrod t5 is allowed to move upwardly, for a pressure Y'equal to 5 0V atmospheres. Sprngsw19 and l2.0 serve toreturn armature 15 and rod fuel compressed in cylinder 2, whereby once the opening of valve 22 has been started, for instance by a pressure of 50 atmospheres, this valve is immediately fully opened by a quick upward displacement, this displacement being limited by an adjustable abutment 23. The leak passage 5 provided in valve 22 opens through one or several passages such as 24 into the discharge chamber 6. The axes of these passages are located at a distance a equal to some tenths of a millimeter below the top Wall of chamber 6. The distance b which correspondsV to the length of displacement of valve 22 necessary to start the opening of the delivery conduit 4 is also very small but greater by some tenths of a millimeter than distance a.

The minimum distance which must exist between the lower end of abutment 23 and the top face of valve 22 must be at least equal to the sum b-{-c, c being the diameter of the delivery conduit 4.

From what precedes it results that the modificationsV brought to the injection advance -by the means above described act only upon the beginning of injection but not on the end thereof, whereby variations cf the advance, if only such'means are provided, also produce modifications of the amount of rfuel that is injected, these modifications being such that the amount that is injected increases with the injection advance and consequently with the speed of the engine.

In some cases, it is useful to make the means that serve to adjust the 4advance such that they act at the same time to perform an auto-regulation, as a function of the speed, of the amount of fuel injected on every pump stroke, without interfering with the automatic adjustment of the advance.` For this purpose, l may make use of the space that rod 8 (Figs. l to 3) or valve 22 (Fig. 4) clears when moving 4under the eect of the pressure existing inside cylinder 2. In order to give a sutl'icient value Ito this space and also to permit of obtaining the desired variation of said space, l dispense with abutment 12 (Fig. l) or 23 (Fig. 4) or l retract it sufiiciently to enable rod 8 or valve 22 acting as a piston to have a variable displacement of a given length after it has closed the leak passage 5. Furthermore, the means for driving piston 1, which consist for instance of a cam, are arranged in such manner ,that the speed of this piston keeps increasing after the opening of the injector. Consequently, the pressure in cylinder 2 increases also after the opening of the injector, the increase of this pressure being always quicker than the increase of the speed of the engine. Furthermore, return spring 9 -is given a force sufticient to ena-ble rod 8 or valve 22 to lift during the whole period of injection so-as more and more to compress the spring and to retract from the injection circuit a volume of fuel proportional to the displacement of this rod' or valve. n

Consequently, at the end of injection, spring 9 expands and the whole of the volume of fuel retracted from the circuit by the displacement 'of rod 8 (Fig. l) or valve 22 (Fig. 4) ows out to the reservoir. It follows that, byremoving'or moreY or less unscrewing abutment 13 (or 23), I reducey the volume offuel injected on every pump stroke in" a proportion variable with the speed of the engine and which increases therewith.

`It is clear that by combining the parameters of the sytem (spring, diameters, bores, passages), it is possible to obtain either a mere compensation of the excess of volume produced by the advance of injection, or an overcompensation which permits of dispensing, in some cases, with any other system `for adjusting the volume injected as a function of the speed. This adjustment may also lbe varied manually by modifying the force of spring 9 by means of nut 11.

In a general manner, while I have, in the above description, disclosed what I deem to be practical and efficient embodiments of my invention, it should be well understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the present invention as comprehended within the scope of the accompanying claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a fuel injector adapted to open under the action of the pressure of fuel fed thereto when said pressure reaches a first predetermined value, a fuel feed pump which comprises, in combination, a pump body forming a cylinder, a piston reciprocable in said cylinder, a delivery conduit in communication with the -inside of said cylinder and leading toward said injector, driving means for reciprocating said piston in said cylinder, said driving means Ibeing arranged to give an increasing speed to said piston during the inward stroke thereof, means in said pump body forming a leak passage for fuel yfrom said cylinder to the outside thereof, a slide valve distinct from said piston and movable in a path with respect to said pump body between opening and closing positions at opposite ends of said path to control said leak passage, said slide valve being mounted to be lhydraulically urged by the fuel pressure in the cylinder toward its leak passage closing position, and biasing means interposed between said pump body and said slide valve `for opposing the hydraulic thrust of said fuel pressure on said slide valve to maintain said 4. A fuel feed pump according to claim 1 in whichv said pump body is provided with a cylindrical bore opening into said cylinder, said slide Value being slidable in said bore, said delivery conduit opening into the cylindrical wall of said bore.

5,'A -fuel feed pump according to claim 1 in which said pump body is provided with a recess opening into said cylinder, the portion of said recess adjoining said cylinder being of frusto-conical shape and in line with said cylinder and the next portion of said recess being of cylindrical shape and in line with said frusto conical portion, said slide value lbeing of a shape corresponding to that of said recess, said delivery conduit opening into the cylindrical wall of said recess.

6. A fuel feed pump accordingV to claim 1 in which said slide value is mounted to be able to move beyond the position thereof for which said leak passage is closed,

said piston being driven in such manner that its speed keeps increasing after said leak passage is closed.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,173,813 Bischof Sept. 19, 1939 2,174,526 Parker Oct. 3,` 1939 2,225,019 Retel Dec. 17, 1940 2,410,517 Muller et al. Nov. 5, 1946 2,410,947r Johnson Nov. 12, 1946 2,537,087 Pyk et al. Ian. 9, 1951 2,582,535 Drouot Jan. 15, 1952 2,696,786

Fleck et al. Dec. 14, 1954 

